Thursday, November 4, 2010

Tokyo Toy Shops: Map to the stars

This is a new toy hunting resource I'm putting together for folks heading to Japan in search of sofubi. One of the hardest things about hunting for that elusive camo release is the way it blends in with the urban foliage...which you may wind up passing 6 or 7 times before looking up and releasing that d'oh! there it was on the second floor above the Family Mart all along.

It's sometimes easy, sometimes not, to find maps to shops...but they're usually in Japanese or too tiny or not detailed enough to help you go straight from the station to the shop. Not only that, but shops open, close, and move *constantly* these days. Couple of cases in point - both the Harajuku Kiddy Land and Monstock have moved within the last few months. A living map that lets you zoom, weave, line up, and print is the best solution.

The best tool out there is Google Maps, but the site often has issues taking an English or Japanese address and pinpointing the location. More often than not, it gives you a map of the contiguous 48...WTF? If you're nodding, you know what I'm talking about. So, you usually have to fiddle with the address order, remove components, etc. to get the right location to pop up.

OK, so this post is meant to end all that. What I'm aiming to do is provide a link list to Google Maps that you can print out and take with you, or download to your smart phone, or trace if you don't have a printer or a smart phone - whatever works. The only small drawback is the maps are in Japanese - but that shouldn't be a big problem since they also tend to list landmarks like KFCs, convenience stores, etc.

Tip: Whenever I go to a new station, I look for one of the huge area maps hanging on a wall or pillar inside the station. (Be warned, though, they're not always oriented so that North points up!) Then you can hold your Google Map up to the station map to get your bearings.

About store opening hours, this is very tricky, as shops don't always keep regular hours or stick to their posted opening schedule. I'm going to try to add more information to this post, including store websites and opening hours, with two caveats: 1) It's very possible that a store may not be open according to its posted hours. (Remember, many of these shops are run by just one person.) 2) For some stores, opening hours are in flux, not set in stone.

OK, let's get started. In addition to a single, comprehensive map of Tokyo Toy Shops, I'll post individual maps with the actual store address and the nearest train station. It's going to take a while (it's a lot harder than it looks) to build the database, so keep checking back. I've added a permanent link on the right side of the blog for easy reference.

AotoShinto Gangu (Real Head toys)
Closest station: Aoto
Address:東京都葛飾区青戸6-4-15
Website: http://realxhead.jp/ (Click the black box to the right of the door to enter the page with info.)
Hours: Check the Real Head Twitter feed, as opening hours change regularly. These days (as of mid-2012), the store is infrequently open.Click here for the map

Erostika
Closest station: Harajuku
Address: 東京都渋谷区神宮前3-15-8 #208Click here for the map
*Note: Erostika is in the same building as Secret Base and literally right across the hallway.

Bounty Hunter
Closest station: Harajuku
Address: 東京都渋谷区神宮前3-15-8-103Click here for the map
*Note: This is part of the Secret Base/Erostika/Bounty Hunter three for one. BH is in the same building as the others, but on the first floor.

KoenjiGodzilla-ya (Gojira-ya)*Note the toy shop is on the second floor. The Gojira-ya bar is on the first floor.
Closest station: Koenji
Address: 東京都杉並区高円寺南3-67-1
Website: http://www1.plala.or.jp/GODZILLAYA/
Tel: 03（3336）3178
Hours: 2PM - 9 PM (Closed Tues + Wed)Click here for the map

Ichibanboshi
Closest station: Koenji
Address: 東京都杉並区 高円寺北3-25-25 天名家ビル203号Click here for the map
*Note: This is another 2-fer. Star Case (perhaps Japan's best Star Wars shop) is right next to Ichibanboshi

Radio Hall (Rajio Kaikan)
Closest station: Akihabara (It's right around the corner from the train station)
This is one of Tokyo's legendary toy complexes. It houses 7 floors packed with hobby shops. The focus is on popular toys, model kits, anime based properties, dolls, DIY gear, etc. (But not so much on the sofubi side.) So you've got stores like Yellow Submarine, Kotobikuya, Uchusen Toys, etc. There are also some showcase shops, so once in a while you can find some cool grabs there. (Or in Engrish parlay: get the toy!)
Website: http://www.radiokaikan.jp/
Address:〒101-0021 東京都千代田区外神田1-15-16Click here for the map.

Akiba Zone
Closest station: Akihabara
This 6 floor building contains a ton of toy stores, including One up Akiba, Robot Robot Akiba, and a bunch of others. Also, in the basement, there's a huge space for exhibitions, model car racing, a store selling a bunch of Kaiyodo figures, and even a bar and some snack shops.
Website: Akiba Zone
Address: 東京都千代田区外神田1丁目7-6
Store hours (These are One up's hours. I would think most other shops probably keep similar hours.):
Hours: 11:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Kaiju Korner visit: Click here to read the KK One up Akiba store report.Click here for the map.

Hi! We will be visiting at the end of April. My husband collects all kinds of things, including new (urban vinyl, 12" figures) and vintage (like popy, etc). Will the stores on this list have a good variety or are they all sofubi? Also, you say they change often, and it says the last update was April 2013. What are the chances the info will still be good?Thanks!

You'll find a great variety of toys in Tokyo, though maybe not quite so much urban vinyl as in the past. Can't guarantee that all the stores I listed are still open, but the majority should be. Have a great trip!

Hi, I am going to tokyo in June 17 - 24. Can I have your advise where can I go for Hello kitty or sanrio collectible? Guess flea market is a good place but I am quite confuse with so many flea markets. Which market is advisable for toys? Beside those malls, any good recommendations for those small shops that sell hello kitty vintage?

Thanks for putting together this great resource, I knew about most of the larger toy stores (Mandarake Nakano etc) but it's great to see a lot of the smaller stores covered that most guides normally miss!

Are you going to be putting together a guide for Osaka anytime soon?

Also, just one more thing, do you have any info on toy cats showcase? I'm currently in Japan on holidays and went to check it out when it should have been open, but the place was closed up, with traffic cones blocking the steps down to the entrance :/

Glad you're enjoying the guide! The landscape changes so frequently that it's hard to keep up just with Tokyo. (On that note, I'm hoping to make a number of major adjustments to the Tokyo map sometime in the coming months, given time.)

So for now I'm limiting my shop guide activities for other cities to things like individual store reports and videos. (You can find a list of many reports, including shops in Osaka, on the right-hand side of this site.)

As for the shop you mentioned, as I recall it's in Kichijoji. Before visiting any shop not on your planned route, my advice is to call first to see if they're open.